More than just a creature
by Duckling loves apples
Summary: Creatures. That's what we've been named by the city. We have flaws, we don't fit their mold, we are "disgusting" in the simplest of terms. We are forced to live in the shadows if we don't want to lose our freedom, but it's not easy. The poor souls that are caught are marked and either thrown in the freak show or sold to the Pures. I am one of them...but so is he.
1. More than just a creature

**Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh lets get this out of the way. I don't own hetalia or any anime, book, or movie I may make a reference to OKEY DOKEY ENJOY!**

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Stay away from the light.

It's a simple rule, really, but much harder than it seems. It's hard to stay in the shadows when our appearances make us easy to pinpoint by the Hounds. Unnatural hair…gruesome eyes… sickly spots on our skin…disfigured body parts…disgusting looks. Anyone that didn't fit into their standards was considered disgusting and marked as Creature. Not physically though since we don't give them the chance to do it, us creatures stay hidden to survive.

But not all of us have are bodies untouched by the Trackers. The poor souls that are captured are cut with a knife across their face under their eyes and either thrown in the freak show or sold to the Pures…the dominant status in the city. They have the least amount of flaws on their bodies, which is none. They have no physical flaws and that leaves them on top.

In the light.

oooooOOOOOooooo

I'm running…again. That's the third time this week I've found myself straining my legs and body past exhaustion to stay away from the Hounds. Those filthy mutts would go to any lengths to get their hands on one of us if it means gold in the end. My stamina is cut short and I'm starting to trip over my feet but I don't stop. I think they stopped following me a while back but turning around to find out is not a risk I am willing to take.

I round the corner and once I am certain I am no longer at risk, I press my back against the cold wall and slump to the muddy ground. My legs are shaking and my breath is coming out in painful pants. I'm safe. Once again…I'm safe.

"Are you sure he went this way?" That voice sends a shiver down my spine but it isn't enough to get my legs moving again. They're burning and shaking violently so I stay silent and hope they aren't talking about me.

"Yea, I saw gray hair!" My stomach drops. Now I know they're talking about me. I try to get back on my feet but I can't stand for a second without falling…so I wait. Their voices fade as they move away from where I'm hiding and without thinking I let my body relax. After a couple of minutes, they're back.

I can hear the Hounds getting closer but I can't get my legs to cooperate so I try to crawl further into the shadows with my arms dragging the rest of my limp body.

"I found the Creature!" One of them yelled. I could feel him running and the terror in my chest expanding. I could feel a metal serpent wrapping around my legs preventing me from crawling away much further and stabs to my neck from its fangs. I felt my body twitch in pain and my nails bleed as I tried to free myself…then nothing. I felt nothing. The serpent wasn't cold anymore, my body went numb, the Hounds' bark like laughs were silent, and the walls were dark.

They've won.

oooooOOOOOooooo

It hurts.

My first thought when I opened my eyes was that it hurts. My body was aching from the strain of the chase and my neck was sore from the serpent's venom but my mind was focusing on the burn stretching under my eyes. I couldn't believe that I let them mark me after having avoided them all my life! Letting my guard down had been a mistake...one that cost me my freedom.

I sat up slowly and noticed I was in small windowless room. There was barely room to stretch my legs and if I stood up I'm sure my head would almost reach the ceiling. One of the walls appeared to be made of glass but knowing anyone could easily break through it and escape, I doubt it was.

My vision focused beyond the transparent wall when a figure was thrown against the opposite one. It was a boy. He was being pushed by two Keepers into his room but not before they had their fun. His face was twisted in pain as he was pushed against the wall before they finally threw him in and walked away.

Looking at him properly I felt pity; he was a creature but just barely. His hair was one of the colors of the Pures, blonde, but it was a washed-out ashy tint; besides the scar under his eyes, his skin didn't have any visible marks but it was a sickly pale color, not exactly ghostly like mine, but sickly enough; his back and feet pushed awkwardly against opposite walls so he was taller than what was the norm and his eyes were a dull bruise purple color. If just one of those flaws hadn't been there, he would have had been a working class like the Keepers or the Hounds. Life can be cruel sometimes.

But I didn't dwell on it much as I closed my eyes and forced myself to sleep.

The following day I spent it playing along to whatever the keepers told me to do. If I was going to have any chance of getting out, I needed to know how things functioned around here. We were woken up early and handed what I supposed was our breakfast before having our hands and feet restrained and dragged into a giant translucent dome outside the stone walls.

The sky was colored gray by the clouds and the smoke of the city which meant I didn't have to worry about my skin, the floor was layered with grass too green to be natural, few tables and chairs were scattered around and the people beyond the dome walked past; some without moving their noses from their air of superiority and others staring at us like their soon to be pets. It made me sick.

I tried looking for a way I could escape from here but the moment the doors were locked it was impossible to know where they had once been. In any case we were probably being watched since this is the place where any creature was most likely to try something. Sighing, I slumped down on the too soft grass and glared at the Pures outside our transparent prison to pass the time.

"GET AWAY, GET AWAY!" A voice shouted and I was immediately on my feet staring at a mud brown haired boy behind me. "THIS IS MY SPASE YOU CAN'T COME NEAR, BASTARD!" the boy shouting was being restrained by long chains that stopped him right before he could get to where I was standing.

"I wasn't anywhere hear you!" I shouted back and his already sick eyes tainted with anger.

"ARE YOU FUCKING CALLING ME BLIND?"

"Lovino calm down, if you keep yelling the mistress is going to send in the keepers" another voice whispered behind me. It was the boy from yesterday.

"SO WHAT!? THAT BITCH AND THOSE BASTARDS DON'T SCARE ME!" he barked, eyes moving rapidly from one place to another as if to expecting to catch a glimpse of something.

"But they know what does." He replied calmly passing me and stepping closer to the raging boy who grew quiet and still. "It's bad enough that they chained you…don't make them-"

"Yea whatever…I didn't want to sit here anyway!" the boy huffed and turned on his heels dragging the chains behind him. The boy next to me sighed and kneeled down on the grass where I was sitting earlier resting his hands on his lap.

"I'm sorry about Lovino" he said not turning to look at me "this place brings out the worst in some of us…"

Relaxing my shoulders slightly, I sat back down a few steps away from the blonde. "Then why is he the only one out here that's chained?"

"Because everyone else is locked up" he said without a second thought, looking up ahead without seeing anything. His eyes where droopy and glazed over so I wonder if he could see well. I also wondered why he hasn't been bought yet, he didn't seem to have anything people would pay to see at the freak show and he was one of the less "disgusting" ones of the creatures.

"How long have you been here?"

"Longer than most…" is all he said before closing his eyes. I didn't say anything else; instead I looked out beyond the dome to where he had been staring and glared at the passing people until the Keepers opened the door to chain us again and guide us back in.

I was separated out of the rest along with a few others, who I presumed where recently captured, and dragged one by one into a white room. Inside a camera inspected every inch of our body and a metallic hand zoomed out and branded us with a piece of jewelry. we ether got out with a red drop like earing or a sharp black one before being thrown through two different doors.

As I got pushed in though one of the doors, I was greeted with another Keeper waiting for me. I followed him through the cold hallways and down as though a dark stairway as best as my poor vision could allow until we reached a basement of glass cells that were a lot bigger than the one I was in the night before but also a lot colder. I stumbled into the cell that hid in the back of the room and the keeper left without giving me a second glance. This place made me sick, but I didn't let my anger get the best of me…not yet.

"I was right" I heard a whisper behind me but saw no one. "I knew you would end up like this." he continued and out of the shadows a figure materialized until I saw the boy with the sickly purple eyes.

"How, exactly?" I said standing up cautiously.

"A freak" he said lifting his hand to lazily point at my ear where a blood red earing was stabbed in place, marking me for the freak show. I swapped his hand away in anger and moved back until my back was touching the glass wall.

"At least I'm not a toy" I growled. He flinched and moved his fists to his chest but didn't step back.

After a small pause I heard him breath in and speak softly again. "We would've had a higher chance of escaping if we had been."

Confusion masked my face until I saw the same red earing dangling from his small ear.

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 **SUUUUUUUUP PEOPLE DUCKLING HERE QUACK! So I was listening to the song "girls girls girls" by Emily Autumn so it got me wanting to write something about a freak show but also i just finished reading this book called _the_ **_**glass arrow**_ **by Kristen Simmons which if you're looking for a book you should totally check it out and anyways that's where I got the inspiration for the separation of classes and the whole selling people and anyways it's gonna be loosely based on that book but just barely (pssst you should check it out!) anyways I'll see you guys next chapter which I'll definetly try to make longer DUCKLING OUT QUACK!**


	2. More than just a freak

I didn't understand what he meant at first.

 _We would've had a higher chance of escaping if we had been._

Maybe he had failed so many times he thought being a toy would have been easier. Maybe he was just trying to bring me down. Maybe he _wanted_ to be a toy. I really didn't know.

But once the time arrived when our only purpose of the day was to entertain the Pures, I knew…and I understood…and now I find myself echoing his words.

We would've had a higher chance of escaping if we had been.

oooooOOOOOooooo

It was pitch black in the basement and no other freak had their eyes open other than me and the boy. We sat in silence with our backs against the glass wall and our arms resting on our bent knees. Both of us where wide awake as the knot in our stomachs made it impossible to drift into sleep.

"Hey Mathew?" I asked the boy- Mathew- in a small whisper.

"Yea?" he whispered back.

"Can you tell me what's going on tomorrow?"

I heard him breathe in slowly and then out before answering "We are being transported to the show so the Pures can get their entertainment."

"You'd think they'd be bored of it by now" I said and Mathew sighed.

"No…we don't all go at once…the mistress chooses a group at a time…and with new creatures being caught every other day…I doubt they're gonna run out of new attractions any time soon." He said and felt silent once more.

"…So I'm definitely going tomorrow then…"

He didn't say anything for a while and I was starting to think he had fallen asleep finally, but a after a few seconds more he spoke. "Gilbert…make sure you do what they say…no matter how much you hate it."

"I was planning to" I replied and shut my eyes close for a few seconds…minutes…hours…I wasn't really sure but once I opened them again, our Keeper was standing in front of the glass cage with my chains in had ready to drag me away from my small corner.

"It's show time freaks!" he said sliding the door open. I stood up glaring and held my hands out without a fight. He laughed and wrapped my wrists with that uncomfortable metal bracelet at the end of the chain but didn't move from his spot.

"That means you too, princess."

Mathew looked up in surprise and stood up cautiously "but I was there last-"

"Sounds like a personal problem" he said violently pulling him out with the chains already in place and guiding us out of the basement. "It's a shame you had to be so ugly; your height would have been useful around here." He laughed and ran a hand though his spikey blonde hair. Neither of us said a word.

When we were out in the hallway the bright light blinded me and I had to keep my head low until my eyes adjusted properly. When I lifted my head back up I had no idea how we got where we were. It was not as bright as the previous hallway had been but it was much warmer. The Keeper opened the door and dragged us into a stuffy room where other freaks where being transformed into something worth paying to stare at. Some looked extremely uncomfortable in having someone hovering over their naked bodies while others, the ones who have been here the longest, just looked ashamed of being back in this room. Mathew was one of the latter.

We moved to the back of the room and where positioned in front of two empty mirrors. I was shocked when he removed our chains and walked away until I he stopped next to another Keeper. Scanning the room I noticed there were keepers standing in every available spot keeping an eye on their respective freaks.

Another room with no escape.

It wasn't long until the Artists, or so they call them, striped us of our clothes and looked us up and down deciding what to do with us. Artists are a rank or maybe two below the Pures; they are usually smaller and weaker than the Hounds and Keepers but much more able with their bodies and voices. Even so, their only purpose is to entertain and keep the Pures happy.

I was stuffed into the most uncomfortable black pants imaginable. They cut the circulation of my legs and my ankles ached from the white cloth wrapped around them like bandages. I wasn't used to stuff like this and to say that I disliked it was an understatement. Fortunately I was left barefoot and my upper half was naked except for the terrifying symbols painted down my arms and back with black ink. I don't think I could have dealt with more.

I looked over at Mathew and once again felt pity. His legs were constricted by stripped cloth, his shaggy hair pulled back out of his face and it was evident he was struggling to breathe as not only was his head held high by a choker wrapped around his neck, the Artist kept pulling the strings at the back of his outfit. From head to toe he was covered in black and red.

The strain on his face disappeared as he stared at the opening door. A tall, tan keeper walked in dragging a small raging boy who I recognized from my fist day here. The Keeper scanned the crowd and once he caught Mathews eye he hurriedly walked towards him and handed him the chains before walking out again. Lovino immediately wrapped his arms around Mathew and hid his face I his chest. No one else dared to look at him.

"That bastard…that bastard, that bastard, that bastard" he murmured over and over until he tired himself out. Mathew simply held the boy until he stopped shaking, growling at the Artist like a dog when he tried to separate them and growing taller until the he backed away.

"I'm going to paint you, ok?" Mathew asked and Lovino nodded finally separating from the other. Mathew grabbed the black paint without protest from the scared Artist and covered as much as possible of the others skin and clothes. I didn't understand why he wasn't being decorated like the rest of us until I noticed the sharp black spike dangling from his ear. He was a Toy…so what was he doing here?

oooooOOOOOooooo

We only had to wait a few minutes until we had the chains attached to our cuffs again. Once again we walked through the hallways into yet another strange room. It wasn't any different from the other rooms I have been before; dark, cold, and full of cages waiting for us. The only difference was that the cages weren't glass like all the others, they were metal cages completely sealed off. The Keeper tugged at the chains as I trailed behind making me stumble forward into the cage. "Oh don't worry. There's only and eighty percent chance you'll suffocate in there! " he laughed as he slammed the door shut leaving the small holes at the top of the walls as our only source off air.

"That filthy snake! He's lucky I'm tied up every time he's near 'cuz I swear if I wasn't I could just…just…aaagghh!" anger rushed through my body as I strangled the air in front of me wishing it was the Keeper's neck. "Why are we still listening to these guys? I bet you and I could take him, Mattie! I know! We can choke him with our chains as soon as he opens the door and then, and then…" I trailed off as I turned to look at the blonde, anger forgotten. He was breathing in painful gasps and gabbing at the chocker trying to keep it away from his neck.

"Hey, are you ok?"

"Of course he's not ok you bastard, can't you hear him?" growled Lovino. With him blending in with the shadows because of the makeup I had almost forgotten he was here with us.

"No…no….im fine" said Mathew in between breaths. "It's just…really hard….to breathe….in this thing and...the lack of air…isn't helping…"

"How long till they get us out of here?" I asked.

Mathew took in slow breaths before answering "It will be a while….it's kind of far from the institute…."

I sighed and slumped down the wall as the cage moved with whatever had its wheels on the smooth road….whatever was taking us to the freak show.

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 **Sup people Duckling here quack! man I'm starting to miss Prussia's loud personality but anyways im definitely not gonna leave him this serious for long cuz I just can't deal with that. also ill try to make the chapters longer next time ANYWAYS I don't have much to say so im just gonna leave it at that SEE YOU DUCKLINGS NEXT CHAPTER! DUCKLING OUT QUACK!**


	3. More than just for your amusement

No one spoke as we were being transported. It felt like we were struggling to breathe for hours, but it felt like we couldn't have arrived sooner as the before I knew it my hands were tied again.

This place felt like a maze. Different freaks where guided to different sections, each matching to whatever the room looked like, and the further in we went, the darker it got. Soon, Mathew, Lovino, and I were separated from the group along with a few others and led behind blood red curtains. The room was dark and it gave off a sinister feel with the few glowing red lights and the chains on the walls. Lovino was separated from us and chained to a dark corner where he could be out of sight. Mathew was thrown inside a glass cage that was centered at front where the shadows fell heavily and could be seen from all sides. He stayed perfectly still…The only movements where the small anxious twitched of his muscles. I was left inside a giant metal bird cage at the other side of the room.

Soon, doors could be heard along with the footsteps and chatter of the Pures and everyone in the room went still.

"Step right up ladies and gentlemen!" the voice of an Artist echoed faintly through the walls. "We bring to you the finest entertainment. My name is Francis and I am very pleased to be your humble servant."

The voices turned into faint echoes as they moved from room to room; occasionally, gasps and screams of surprise could be heard followed by laughs. It made me feel sick. I don't know what was going on in the other rooms, but the thought of what _could_ be going on was enough. The voices kept getting louder and louder the closer they approached and eventually the Artist glided into the room followed by the group of Pures.

"Now, now there's no need to hide!" the Artist sang as the Pures surrounded the glass cage. "Oh that's right…if you didn't we wouldn't have our shadow boy!"

"Honestly what's this entire ruckus about? I don't see anything!" a woman said angrily to which someone replied "try knocking on the glass dear."

"Oh I see now! This is truly incredible!"

"If it wasn't for the earring, I'd consider taking him home with me."

I couldn't believe it. I knew we were only here for their entertainment, but they were talking about Mathew as if he couldn't understand a word they were saying! As if he was an animal! With every comment, every knock on the glass, every explanation given by the blonde Artist, an almost inaudible yelp escaped from his lips as he tried to hide further into the shadows.

This went on with every freak in the room.

"They seem a bit inhumane."

"I can't believe anyone could actually look like that!"

"Don't get to close, love; you don't know what they can be thinking!"

"Do they even think? How big are their brains, sir?"

"She looks absolutely mad!"

"Now you should be careful not to look this one too long in the eyes" the voice of the Artist caught my attention. The group was moving towards my bird cage so I moved back into the shadows until my back was pressed against the metal bars.

"…and why is that young man?"

"I don't think any of you would like to see into the eyes of the devil for too long!"

Eyes of the devil huh? If that's what they want to see there's no way I'll give them the satisfaction. I sat down and closed my eyes as I waited for them to come and go. I could hear the curious whispers and grunts of irritation when they didn't get what they wanted. Maybe if I keep this up they won't bring me to the next freak show.

"He's not opening his eyes!" whined a younger pure.

"Maybe he has decided to spare us. Really I don't think any of us would be able to handle it" the Artist said without hesitation "those horrible symbols on his body are the sign he has been touched by the devil and if you were to stare too long into his eyes you would join him."

The crowd gasped and I silently cursed. He was making them believe exactly what he wanted, with or without my help. I sat in silence thinking…if I could manage to terrify them, I could go back to the institute. I just needed an opening…

"Go ahead and get closer" That's it "he won't bite."

I waited until I heard them take a few steps forward before slamming my body against the metal bars and reaching between them, successfully tearing at the hat of a stuffy man as my eyes pierced into his. My laugh echoed manically trough the room as everyone moved back away from the cage ad held their loved ones close.

"Well he might…" was all the Artist said.

"MAGNIFICENT!" the stuffy man said and his laugh replaced mine "simply magnificent..ehh, don't look him in the eye dear!" my stomach dropped and my heart sank. I couldn't believe it….they were enjoying it.

"Move along every one, we still have much to see." The crowd walked away and I was left holding on to the cold metal bars. What had just happened?

I looked over at the glass cage and the faint outline of Mathew. How many times has he tried to escape? Had he ever tried what I did? How close has he come to breaking free? I grunted and rested my head against the bars. Now I knew that if I want to have a chance at escaping, I need to be away from cages as possible.

I would think of something…I wasn't going down without a fight!

oooooOOOOOooooo

"You really are a dumbass aren't you?"

"Shut up, Lovino, How was I supposed to know!?" The ride back was more than exhausting. Lovino was giving me a hard time about the stunt I pulled with the Pures, and I wasn't going to stay quiet.

"Guess you're no better than us. You're not getting out any sooner than we are."

"Fucking try me!"

"Guys please stop arguing…" Mathew finally said, bringing his hands to his head and rubbing his temples "You're giving me a headache…"

"Well make him stop bothering me!" I said pointing a finger at the boy.

"How old are you? Five? Deal with it like a man you bastard!"

"Oh you wanna go, little man? YOU WANNA FUCKING GO?!"

"YOU DON'T SCARE ME!"

And before we knew it, we were on the ground one second and back up again in a second with an arm around our throats.

"Alright, enough is enough…" said Mathew "now unless you want to get in trouble you better settle down because I don't know about you but I am not too eager to spend the rest of the week in the pit…" it took us a while, but eventually we both relaxed our muscles and Mathew unwrapped his arms from our necks.

"Sorry" i apologized and sat down against the wall with a huff. On the other side of the cage Lovino did the same. "Mathew?"

"Yea?"

"Can you tell me about your escape attempts?" I asked without getting an answer "I want to know what you did so I don't waste my time making the same mistakes….we could figure out a way to do it together…it be a lot easier than doing it alone."

He said nothing for a while. He sat down next to me. Then he spoke.

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 **SUP PEOPLE DUCKLING HERE QUACK! sorry if this chapter is kinda short, finals got me going crazy! Anyways Prussia's personality is starting to shine though a bit YAY and also we got to see France as an Artist! Hmmm what else…oh yea! Some of the dialogue from the freak show is from lyrics form 'Girls, Girls, Girls' by Emilie Autumn and I really like how it turned out. ANYWAYS THAT'S IT FROM ME TODAY DUCKLING OUT QUACK!**


	4. More than just a cage

"I'll try to make this quick" said Mathew "first try I attacked my keeper and ran. They threw me in the pit for three weeks until they found a stronger keeper."

"Matthias?"

"Yea…but it wouldn't have mattered anyway…I got too scared to try that again…few days later, I broke my glass cage in the middle of the night; of course it didn't shatter completely so I was still inside when they drugged me. Next day, I woke up in the care center with a stitched fist and ran again before the keepers caught me and threw me back in the pit. Few weeks later, I tricked the keepers into believing I escaped and waited for them to open the cage. I only managed to get past the dome before I returned to the pit."

"Did you always end up in the pit?" I asked.

"I practically lived there the first few years I got here" he said and I frowned.

"How long have you been here?"

"Longer than most" he said just like the first time I met him. "Do you want to hear the rest or not?" I nodded and he continued.

"A few months later, I got sold to a pure. I made it out of the gates before he found me and returned me to the institute. That's when the mistress realized I could be useful at the show and now I'm 'the shadow boy'. That was the furthest I've ever gotten; it's a lot harder to escape as a freak. The week after in the show, I bit the keeper dragging me to the cage and locked him in instead. I ran again and you can figure out the rest." Mathew sighed and closed his eyes before talking again "there isn't much you can do other than run…so I have long since given up…"

Neither of us said a word after that…there wasn't much to say either way. I rested my head against the wall and brought a hand up to trace the scar under my eyes. When was the last time I ever saw a creature out on the streets with the scar? I don't think I had...So what made me so sure there was even a way to escape? Mathew had been a toy at first and by his experience it had been easier to try to escape, so our chances as freaks are probably nonexistent.

"So now you know" said Lovino with a scowl "any ideas on how to get out, genius?"

"Hey you can't expect me to come up with something on the spot!" I shouted back. Lovino scoffed and crossed his arms. "I'll think of something soon enough…for now, let's just focus on staying under the radar."

Mathew let out an airy laugh "funny you say that…the day isn't over yet. We have an examination once we get to the institute."

"Are you kidding me?!" I whined and slumped down on the floor "why though!?"

"They have to make sure the attractions aren't…damaged."

I groaned and threw an arm over my eyes. The last thing I wanted was to go back into that white room and have some cold machine examine every inch of my body; but either way it didn't matter as I had no choice.

We continued in silence after that…Slowly starting to fall asleep by the gentle movement of whatever was transporting us. As we got to the institute, the door was opened and our hands were chained again. Lovino was taken away by the tan keeper while Mathew and I went a different way. We followed the line of freaks and keepers as we waited to go in the stupid white room. One by one we went in and like I expected we were stripped down and a cold machine inspected us from head to toe. As much as I hated being in there, I was glad to get rid of that ridiculous outfit and glad to have the black shirt and shorts back.

As the keeper dragged me back to my cage, I rubbed my arms to try to get rid of the symbols…but all I got out of it were red marks forming around the paint. I left it alone once we got the basement and welcomed the darkness with pleasure as the glass door shut behind me and I slumped down in my corner.

The day was finally over.

I closed my eyes for a few minutes before opening them again. I was still alone in the cage…where was Mathew?

oooooOOOOOooooo

The day started as if everything was right with the world….the outside world at least. We were dragged out of our cages, forced to swallow that lame excuse for food, and thrown inside the dome to have the city mock us from the other side of the glass. The creatures were complaining less than usual as it was one of those days when the smog and clouds in the sky were nowhere in sight and the warmth made everyone forget we were still rejects. Unfortunately for me, I was forced to take cover under the broken down table at the edge of the dome as the gentle light burned my skin. Still I wasn't entirely safe as the few cracks let the light pierce though and turn my skin a gruesome red. It was a lovely addition to the terrifying symbols that refused to leave my body. I hissed at the pain and brought my knees closer to my chest. I couldn't believe I was thinking this, but I couldn't wait to go back inside.

"Hiding from anything?" a pair of feet blocked my view from under the table before kneeling down to reveal Mathew's bruise colored eyes. "Missed me?" It seemed even he was in a better mood than usual.

"Sure…and I'll have you know I only hide when it is absolutely necessary!" I said earning a smile from the other.

"So avoiding a sun burn in absolutely necessary?"

"It is with my skin…" I said shifting again so the rays hit a different spot.

"Aw come on I'm one of the palest here and I'm not burning yet. You should be fine."

"Are you kidding me? I'm basically translucent!" I said with a grin "honestly they should have turned me into a vampire at the show instead of a demon or some shit."

"Don't give them ideas" he said staring straight into nothing again.

My eyes shifted to his left ear were the blood drop pendant was hanging from. I frowned in confusion as I looked at his other ear where small stitches replaced the earring. "What happened to your ear?"

Mathew twitched and his eyes focused once more "…I ripped out my earring…" he said slowly.

"Why?"

"I didn't exactly do it myself…" Mathew clenched his fists and looked down.

"Did someone do something?" I found myself asking without knowing why.

"No it was an accident…"

"Can you tell me?"

He didn't say anything for a while but I didn't ask again. I only stared. "I-I don't know…I panicked when the machine came in the room so I tried to get out…and I guess my earring got caught somewhere 'cuz it ripped off my ear and I got sent to the care center…"

"Stitches on the ear don't take all night" I said without getting a response back "you got sent to the pit didn't you?"

"Can we just drop it?" he whispered "it doesn't really matter; it's not the first time it's happened…"

I nodded and we both sat in silence. He was right…It didn't matter. I shouldn't be worrying about it; we had more important things to think about. I didn't care about him when I first got here…he was just the boy with the sickly colored eyes, so why should I care about him now? We made an agreement to help each other get out and that's the end of it. There was nothing more to it.

"Alright, answer me this….would it be possible to escape through the pit?"

"Depends…" he said and I raised an eyebrow "can you survive being electrocuted?"

oooooOOOOOooooo

Soon the clouds and smog returned to their place in the sky and I was able to come out from under the old table. I looked at my arms and legs and hissed at the small pain it caused when I moved them. I really hoped it wouldn't stay like that for long. Everyone slowed down as the warm glow disappeared and left behind the usual cold; however the outside world functioned like it always did….people walking around and staring when they pasted by our glass prison.

The keepers came to collect us and we made our way back inside the institute. The slowness of this place was dragging me crazy as the only sound that was heard was the clank of the chains as we moved like obedient dogs to our cages.

The darkness of the basement was cut by the small beam of moon light that managed to pass through the clouds and come through the small windows. It was the only thing I focused on as I tried to sleep as trying to find a way out was harder when you couldn't see what you were trying to escape. I hated it. But soon I found myself opening my eyes to the faint morning light and the face of the still sleeping blonde.

Chained again.

Dragged again.

Thrown out again.

My life was starting to become dull.

oooooOOOOOooooo

"Good to know that fucking sun is hiding again" I said as I stretched my arms over my head.

"Guess it's either one or the other…." Said Mathew looking at the sky as he lay down with his arms extended to his sides.

"Good to know I'm not the only one getting the life sucked out of his body…"

"Get away from my spot you bastard!" Lovino yelled as he marched towards us. He wasn't chained to one spot this time so I wondered if he had become less violent. I took three steps to the left and the brunet slumped down next to Mathew with a puff. I sighed and looked towards the door where creatures where still walking in.

"It seems we have a new bunch" I said as I noticed that a few of them were not branded yet and the gash under their eyes was still bright red

"I hope they're all freaks…the last thing I need is more competition." Lovino said as he ripped blades of grass one by one.

"Competition?" I repeated "I thought you said you wanted to get out?"

"I know what I said freak!" Lovino snapped his head at me and crossed his arms "I never said _how_ I wanted to get out. If I get sold to some idiot then fuck it, at least I'll be out of this place."

I frowned but didn't say anything. What else could I have expected from a toy? Lovino turned his head towards the door with his scowl firmly in place, observing the new poor souls that walked in with shame in fear. Suddenly, he was on his feet. Mathew sat up slowly and turned his head towards the brunet.

"What's the matter?"

"….He got caught" Lovino said before running towards the small group. Mathew and I followed him and soon we saw who the other had run to. It was a boy, much like him in size and build, with a lighter shade of the same mud brown hair and sick eyes.

The boy's eyes widened and filled with tears as he brought a hand up towards Lovino who simply snatched his wrist and brought it down with force. The two were locked in a staring contest as the doors closed and the crowd dispersed. Mathew and I stayed behind.

"You let them catch you…" Lovino finally said in a monotone voice, eyes looking sick.

"….Lovi I-"

"After what I did to guide them away from you, you let them catch you!" he said raising his voice and lowering his head.

"I'm sorry!" cried the other as he started shaking. "I managed on my own for three years but I just-"

"Gave up trying?! Is that it?!"

"No, I just couldn't go on!"

"You-"

"That's enough!" interrupted Mathew in a voice much louder than his own. Lovino turned his head and glared at him with tainted eyes. "…you're going to get yourself locked away again if you don't calm down."

Lovino didn't say anything, but let go of the boy's wrist before walking away. Mathew let out a puff or air and relaxed his posture making himself seem just a bit smaller. He looked at the boy in front of him and smiled.

"You're Lovino's brother, aren't you?" he asked and the boy nodded in return straightening his back and forcing a small smile.

"My name is Feliciano!"

* * *

 **SUUUUUP PEEPS DUCKLING HERE QUACK QUACK! (late) HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND MERRY NEW YEAR EVERYONE XD anyone else did nothing these past two weeks? WOOOOO *cries***

 **OKEY DOKEY so I think my chapters are starting to become a bit longer YAY! I can't wait to get to the good stuff but I can't have that without this stuff happening first or else the story would move on way to fast and I can't deal with it ending fast ANYWAYS WOOOO WE HAVE ANOTHER CHARACTER THROWN IN and is that a trace of feelings I spot? WHO KNOWS! Anyways hope you guys enjoyed this chapter I'll see you bbs next chapter MAMA DUCKLING OUT QUACK!**


	5. More than just a toy

"I didn't think he was going to be mad at me…we haven't seen each other in three years so I thought…"

"Don't beat yourself over it. He's been in this place for far too long." Mathew said trying cheer up the boy. Feliciano sat with us when we went back to our little spot as he was having a hard time dealing with his sudden imprisonment and the lack of his brother's sympathy.

"He snaps like that at everyone but I'm sure he'll talk to you once he calms down." Mathew said with a small smile.

Feliciano sighed weakly and shook his head "I wish he would, we never really got along, I mean…we didn't fight or anything but in the end we're more strangers than brothers."

Mathew frowned and rested his head against the glass of the dome but didn't say anything else. Neither of us said anything else. We sat with our backs pressed to the dome and silently watched the other creatures. Most creatures sat in little packs of two or three while others chose to be alone. Either way no one moved out of their small bubble…everyone sat inside the invisible bars they had created inside the bigger prison.

"Do you think…" I said interrupting the silence "that if we all helped each other out, we could break past the keepers and out of here?"

"What'd you mean?" asked Feliciano.

"In here is no different that out there, it's every man for itself, but unless you haven't noticed for every keeper there are at least three or four creatures. We could escape if we wanted to."

"That's the problem Gilbert. More than half of these creatures are toys and toys have a better future than us freaks." Mathew said turning his head to look at me with his probably useless eyes. "Tell me something, if you had the choice of living in an expensive house with a warm bed and someone who will take care of you as long as you kept them happy and never have to fear that you will die of starvation or some other stupid thing, would you want to go back to hiding and running from the hounds on the streets?"

"I don't know…but I know that you would."

Mathew flinched but didn't say anything else. Feliciano and I both stared at him as he turned his head away with a frown. I didn't say anything else but we were both thinking the same thing. Mathew had had the chance to live like a prince as long as he was a good little boy but he ran away. He made that life sound like it was something anyone would jump at the chance to have…anyone but him.

"Mathew?" the small boy said softly making the other turn his head. "When am I going to get my earing?"

Mathew sighed, thankful for the change in conversation and explained everything to him while I sat back and ran a hand across the symbols that refused to leave my skin.

oooooOOOOOooooo

Once again the basement was quiet as the rest of the freaks slept. I stayed awake as I rubbed at my arms trying to get the paint off but only succeeding in leaving my skin a gruesome red. My arms and chest were burning from the harsh contact and probably from a late allergic reaction.

"Fucking fantastic" I murmured as I pressed my arm against the cold wall to try to stop the burning.

"I'm guessing the paint still won't come off…" Mathew said and I turned my head towards him. He sat up and rubbed his eye with the palm of his hand trying to get the sleep to go away for a few seconds "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I could ask you the same thing" I said back and he let out a puff of air. "Do you- uh- know how to get this off?"

Mathew crawled to my corner of the cage and sat with his legs crossed, stretching out his hand to grab my arm. He held my wrist with one hand and held the other to his chin as he nodded slightly "hmmm….mmhm….interesting…"

"So?"

"Well I know one thing for sure…." He said with a straight face, not looking up.

"And that is?" I asked getting a little impatient with the blonde.

"I definitely can't see in the dark."

"Ha, ha, smartass…" I said and he only laughed a meek and tired laugh in response.

"Okay, okay, sorry." He brought my arm up again but this time he slowly ran his slim fingers along my arm making me shiver at the touch. He did that four times before grabbing my wrist with both hands and simply passing his thumb across my skin. "It's the same paint I used on Lovino but I'm guessing they use some sort of chemical to remove it."

"So why didn't they?" I asked and Mathew shrugged.

"I guess they didn't want to have to draw them again for the next show" he said still sliding his thumb across my wrist. "Does it hurt?"

"Not really…it just burns a bit….a lot…it doesn't matter ill just deal with it."

"If it gets bad enough they take you to the care center and remove it."

"Or they'll use whatever rash I get as a sign that 'I was touched by the devil'!" I said mocking the extravagant artist from the show. Mathew snorted and held a hand to his mouth as he tried to stop that endearing noise from escaping again. I smiled at the reaction.

"I'll deal with it in the morning. Let's go to sleep."

"Right…okay" he said slowly letting go of my arm and crawling back to his corner before we both went to sleep.

oooooOOOOOooooo

I woke up to the sound of flesh against glass as the keeper woke us up. He opened the cage and wrapped our wrists in the chains; his obnoxious grin never leaving his face. We were dragged out of the basement along with the rest of the freaks as we made our way to the dome for another boring day. I looked around at the new faces I recognized from yesterday and saw that, out of all of them, only six had been marked as freaks.

"Guess Lovino's gonna have a shit ton of competition after all" I said to Mathew and the keeper tugged at the chains.

"I don't want to hear you talking, freak. Your voice is extremely irritating" he said and not bothering to turn around.

"Trust me, the feeling is mutual" I replied without thinking. Mathew snapped his head towards me with a concerned look before the keeper turned around and connected his fist with my face. I staggered backwards but the small chains kept me in place as I hung my head trying to get rid of the aching.

"Do that again and you'll get sent to the pit, got it?" he didn't wait for a response before turning back around and dragging us forward again. Around us I hear the other keepers laughing along with some creatures.

"Having trouble with your creature, Mathias?"

"What, like you?" he laughed and I turned to look at the tan keeper that was holding Lovino by the wrists. Lovino was struggling to free himself but the small chains that connected his ankles and wrists kept him from being able to move properly. His teary eyes looked sicker than usual as they rapidly looked from place to place avoiding the man in front of him who simply waited for him to stop.

We kept moving and soon the toy and his keeper were out of sight. I turned my head to look forwards again as we walked out and into the dome once again. The keeper unlatched the chains and walked out leaving us to do as we pleased as long as we behaved like good little boys. I sighed and walked to our normal spot by the table and sat down with a puff. Mathew sat down in front of me and stared at me with a frown.

"Yes?"

"Don't do that again" he said and I simply blinked at him. "He could have done something so much worse!"

"…sorry?" I tried and he frowned "I didn't do it on purpose…it just came out."

"Don't do it again."

"I won't" I said with a grin.

"Does it hurt?"

"If I say yes will you kiss it better?" i said receiving a small punch to the arm instead. "Hey it stills burns you know!"

Mathew didn't say anything but I could see a small smile forming on his lips as he crawled besides me and sat back down. We didn't wait long until the small brunet came bouncing in and toward us. I wasn't surprised when he sat down next to us and I saw the black spike adorning his hear.

"You seem happy today" said Mathew looking at the smiling boy.

"Grandpa always tried to stay happy" he said "it makes things a little easier."

"You should try that Gilbert" Mathew said with a smirk.

"Oh whatever Mister Mope!" I replied and lay down on the unnaturally green grass.

"So anyway, Feli" said Mathew changing the conversation "I know how much better you guys are treated than us but has your keeper been giving you trouble?"

Feliciano thought for a second before shaking his head "not really. It's still very scary being here and it still hurts under my eyes but I guess it's not as bad as it could have been."

"What do you think about the auctions?" I said joining in the conversation.

"I don't know. When I was on the streets I sometimes saw some people with the scar under their eyes, a-and they were with a pure but they weren't tied up or anything and they seemed…happy. I don't know but I guess not all of us get sold to bad people."

"I should've known you'd say something like this" an angry voice spat and we looked up to see a red eyed and tear stained faced Lovino. "Why have freedom when you can have fancy things to play with and a rich bastard to sleep with every night!"

"Lovi-"

"That's what you want, isn't it!? And since you have a cute face people are sure to spend every penny they have on you without hesitation, you fucking toy!"

"Lovino calm do-"

"No don't say that! I'm tired of you telling me what to do, Mathew! You are not the boss of me!"

"I'm not telling you what to do; I'm trying to keep you from getting thrown in the pit permanently!" Mathew said standing up and locking eyes with the brunet.

"Don't you think that maybe I don't care?!" he said shoving the taller blonde away. "I don't need you breathing down my neck every day!"

"Lovi please don't shout." Feliciano said standing up.

"I DO WHATEVER THE FUCK I WANT!" he said getting louder and attracting the attention of the keepers on the other side of the dome.

"If you don't shut up right now-"

"Oh no, they're gonna throw is in the pit! I DON'T GIVE A SHIT IF THEY DO! IM NOT SCARED OF ROTTING AWAY IN THAT PLACE LIKE YOU ARE!" he spat and Mathew flinched. The more Lovino shouted the smaller Mathew seemed. "I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I LET YOU BOSS ME AROUND! YOU'RE PATHETIC!"

I didn't let him get too far before my fist connected with his face bringing blood to the surface. Lovino whipped his nose before striking back. Being physically smaller he didn't cause as much damage as I did but neither of us got far before the keepers ran in and dragged the both of us and Mathew back inside.

oooooOOOOOooooo

Once again we were chained, but this time our hands were behind our back and the keepers were dragging us with a chain around our neck. The hallway we were walking though was the brightest I've seen so far. Not only that but it was fully decorated. A big window was placed every ten steps you took and each was adorned in a way only a pure would know how, the floor was wood instead of concrete, and small chandeliers hung from the ceiling in an extremely unnecessary way.

When we got to the door, one of the keepers knocked and waited before being called in. An "enter" could be heard from the other side before we walked though. We were greeted with a brunette pure sitting at a wooden desk in front of a complicated window. The room was decorated with flowers and paintings and an artist was sitting at a grand piano playing for her. The woman looked from the keepers to each of us with an annoying smile that didn't leave her face.

"Hello Mathew, I didn't expect to see you back here so soon." She said and Mathew made himself smaller "and the same could be said about you, Lovi. I thought you had learned your lesson."

"Mistress Elizabeta, these two were misbehaving and disturbing everyone around them, and later this one" he said pointing to me "joined in the fight."

"Interesting…" the pure said standing up and walking away from her desk. "a fight does mean they have to go to the pit for a week…isn't that right Mathew dear."

Mathew hung his head low refusing to meet her green eyes. When he didn't answer, she made the keeper kneel Mathew down and force his head up to look at her. "I do believe I asked you a question…"

"Hey you can't just-" I began but was silenced when the keeper tugged on the chain around my neck.

"I believe you need to learn some manners" she said not bothering to look at me. "Now Mathew, what are you supposed to say when I ask you a question?"

"...y-yes, ma'am…" he said meekly.

"Good boy" she said moving back to her desk "now I do believe the next show is in two days…you two are going to stay in the pit until then because yes, you will be going to the next show as the crowd is asking for you." She said writing something down.

"As for you, my little Lovi," she turned to Lovino who simply glared at her "you are going to stay there the full week. Now off you go!"

The keepers dragged us out of the room and back though the bright hallway. We made our way down past the dome and past the basement where the freaks stayed. The farther down we went the darker it became. We were dragged down a stone staircase until we reached an old wooden door at the end of the corridor. One of the keepers unlocked it and took out a flashlight before guiding us into the dark room. We didn't go too far in before we stepped into a platform that lowered us down into the darkness. Once at the bottom the keepers untied our hands and replaced the chains around our necks with a collar before going back up and taking our only light source with them. It felt like an eternity before the door slammed shut and we might as well have gone blind. Nothing could be seen.

"Guys..."

"They're not finished yet…" Mathew said before a small light blue light came from our collars barely illumination our faces. "Now we can't get out."

"This is all your fault!" Shouted Lovino looking at me.

"My fault? You're the one who walked in yelling at everyone!"

"If you hadn't hit me then we wouldn't have been in this mess!"

"I thought you said you didn't care if you ended up here or not!" I growled and Lovino flinched.

"I DON'T ! I JUST DON'T WANT TO BE STUCK HERE WITH YOU OF ALL PEOPLE! I WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE ALONE LIKE ALWAYS! YOU SHOULD JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Alright that's enough!" I lifted the boy up clasping a hand over his mouth. Lovino tried to kick me to get away but being bigger and stronger than him gave me the upper hand. After a minute or so of thrashing around, he stopped moving and hung his limbs in defeat.

"Ok…now let's try this again" I said setting the boy down and uncovering his mouth. He didn't move from that spot and he didn't turn around. "You can keep yelling and make Mathew feel like shit or you can talk whatever problem you have with him."

We were quiet for a while before his shoulders started shacking. I thought he was going to burst out again but he only said "I'm tired of this…"

"…Of what?"

"This!" he said turning around "everyone is always getting mad at me and I know it's my fault but I don't know what the fuck I'm doing! And then when I think that I finally found someone that cares about me they either abandon me because of their stupid job or my idiot brother comes along and he steals everyone away because they always like him better than me…" he got quiet as tears started rolling down his face again and his voice cracked when he spoke "…and now…every pure is going to choose him over me and I'm never going to leave this shithole."

The only thing that could be heard after that was the small crying of the brunet as Mathew slowly moved towards him wrapped his arms around him like he used to.

* * *

 **SUUUUUUUPPPPP PEOPLE DUCKLING HERE QUACK! so yea sorry this took so long I had been working on this big ass painting for a gallery and I only had a few hours after school to work on it and the weekends but ANYWAYS THAT'S ALL DONE so im gonna try to update more often, anyways I hope this chapter was worth the wait. So now we met the mistress OOOOOOHHHHH and there're some unresolved issues with the Italy twins noooooo what else OH YEA THINGS ARE FINALY GETTING MOVING WHOOOOOO anyways that's all for now ill see you ducklings next chapter! DUCKLING OUT QUACK!**


	6. More than just the dark

For a while the only things keeping the silence out were the brunet's crying and the blonde's quiet words of reassurance. "I won't every leave you" and "it'll be alright". Nothing more than empty promises; I'm sure both of them knew as eventually Lovino would get sold to a pure and would have to fend for himself. But both of them seemed to ignore that fact at the moment.

Seeing the two left me with a strange feeling in my chest…it was weird how much they cared for one another…almost like family. On the streets, I was alone for as long as I could remember. Caring and wanting to protect someone other than myself was not something that ever crossed my mind.

Yet I couldn't help but wonder…

oooooOOOOOooooo

After a few minutes, both Mathew and Lovino had fallen asleep. Mathew had his back pressed against the wall while the smaller boy had his head against his chest. My eyes hurt from having only the small blue light from our collars barely making it though the dark, but as hard as I tried to close my eyes and join the others, the deafening silence caused by the absence of our argument kept me awake. I sat with my back against the wall simply staring up ahead. Figures moved though the dark and stared back at me with wide grins, but after realizing they didn't get close to me, I decided they were just trick my eyes were playing on me. So I just sat and stared. I wondered if this was the reason Mathew dreaded being stuck down here. Having to be betrayed by your eyes while you waited for something to make a sound though the silence. I didn't blame him… I definitely didn't want to come back here again.

I didn't remember falling asleep, but I must have as my eyes snapped open when a scream pierced though the silence. Lovino was hanging from Mathew's arm as the latter screamed and tried to pull away. I was immediately on my feet and next to the blonde who only tried to move back the closer I got. I grabbed his wrist to pull his hand away while Lovino held down the other.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" the blonde screamed and thrashed around trying to get out of our grip. Lovino was thrown onto the floor and Mathew used his now free hand to claw at my eyes. I grabbed his wrist and turned my head away before he got too close, but it did nothing to stop his nails from cutting into my skin. As the taller blonde kept pulling back, I kept getting dragged forward refusing to let go. Lovino got back up and latched his arms around Mathew's stomach getting him off balance and I quickly tripped him so he had his back against the ground.

Lovino moved out of the way and I pinned Mathew's legs with my feet and his arms above his head as I sat on him to prevent him from moving and hurting himself or us. He didn't stop screaming until his voice became raspy and his face was stained with tears.

"PLEASE DON'T DO IT!"

"Mattie what-"

"ALFRED, PLEASE!"

I fell silent. Mathew stopped screaming and fighting, but continued to cry. I didn't know what to do. I turned to look at the brunet, but he was just as confused as I was. I slowly let go of his arms but he didn't move them from their spot.

"…Mattie?" I asked afraid to cause another reaction. He didn't stop crying but he moved his hands to cover his eyes. I reached out hesitantly and gently pulled his hands away. "Mattie…it's ok, you're not in any danger…."

"Gilbert?" I nodded and moved to the side to help him sit up. He looked terrible. His shaggy hair was a mess, his mouth was oozing blood from where he probably bit himself and his bruise colored eyes looked even worse as they were red and puffy from the crying. It didn't help that the blue light from his collar made him look sick.

"Hold on, don't move." I said grabbing the neck of his shirt and pulling it up to wipe the blood away from his mouth and chin "there, that's better."

"Gil…did I hurt you?" he asked completely disregarding his own bleeding mouth.

I moved my hand to my cheek and felt three small openings in my skin dripping a bit of blood "oh it's just a scratch" I said with a smile.

"Oh."

He didn't say anything else and neither did I. What were you supposed to say after watching someone scream in panic and cry out someone's name? There wasn't much I could say…or there probably was but in just didn't know.

"Are you ok?" it was Lovino who broke the silence. He was frowning but it wasn't his usual scowl, he looked worried.

"Yea I'm…fine…."said Mathew "I'm just glad I didn't do anything to you guys…"

"…Does this usually happen?" I asked even though I knew he was just going to brush off the question.

"Don't worry about it…its nothing…let's just try to sleep. It's a lot easier to pass the time this way" he said moving back and laying on his side facing away from us.

We didn't question him anymore and went back to lying down but none of us could fall back to sleep.

oooooOOOOOooooo

Two days later, the keepers came back down to get Mathew and I. It had felt like an eternity…or maybe a few minutes… I couldn't really tell, but apparently it really _had_ been only two days. The flashlights of the keepers hurt my eyes after having been with nothing but the little blue lights and they knew this as they kept shining the light at us in a not so accidental way. The collars were removed and we went back to the metal bracelets we wore on a daily basis. It was strange but I was glad to have them back.

We were dragged out of the pit leaving the small brunet behind, and the moment we stepped into the main hall, my body hunched over in pain. If the light from the flashlights was painful, then the light from the world above the pit was torture. But it wasn't just my eyes that were burning; my skin felt like it was melting off.

I couldn't see anything as the light blinded me and I could hear or feel anything around me as the only thing in my mind was the pain I felt. I didn't know if I was screaming, or if I had fallen over, or if anyone around me reacted in any way, all I knew was that it hurt. My eyes started to adjust to the light a bit but I could only see blurs as I was carried off somewhere; however as we went thought the door, the room on the other side was even brighter than the one before and I was blinded once again. My skin was on fire and I could concentrate on anything else but I could vaguely hear people talking rapidly amongst themselves.

"You need to hurry up! Orders from the mistress say he has to be there!"

"There's not enough time!"

"The artists are already here!"

"I'm not going to be the one to tell her!"

"Why should I go?"

"It's not my problem!"

I really didn't know what they were going on about but suddenly I didn't feel anything anymore.

When I woke up, it took a while for my eyes to adjust to the bright light but it wasn't painful like it had been before. I was in a completely white room with people moving around dressed in white doing stuff I didn't give a shit about. I was lying in a bed and looking around I saw that I wasn't the only one. I was in the care center.

My first instinct was to get up and run, but all thought of escape abandoned my brain as I felt a bracelet around my ankle. I sat up with my legs off the side of the bed and followed the chain that was connected from my ankle to the floor. Of course they weren't going to make that mistake again.

I suddenly realized that the upper half of my body was wrapped in bandages and I started to panic before a medic showed up. Without even acknowledging me she started to unwrap the bandages.

"What did you do to me?" I asked frowning but she simply ignored me and walked away once she was done "alright then, I didn't want to know anyway" I said not really caring if she heard me or not.

I looked down at my arms and saw that the symbols where gone and my skin wasn't red anymore. I didn't understand why I was wrapped in bandages or why I was in here for so long but I didn't care as long as I didn't have to deal with the burning anymore.

The keeper walked in after a moment and dragged me out the care center and into the dome. I was confused as I thought I was going to be sent to the show, but when I saw that some of the freaks were gone, I sighed in relief realizing they left without me. I walked to our spot by the broken down table and sat underneath it with my legs crossed. I was glad I didn't have to go to the show, but I felt strangely alone without the quiet blonde sitting beside me.

oooooOOOOOooooo

At the end of the day I was dragged back into the basement by myself. Compared to the pit, the basement didn't seem so dark anymore, and I was grateful for the small amount of moon light that came through the window. I sat in the cage in silence staring at the empty spot beside me. It was strange but somehow the cage felt colder than usual.

The door to the basement opened allowing some light from the hallway to shine though. Keepers walked in and pushed their respective creatures into their glass cages. My cage opened and in walked in Mathew as the keeper walked away with the rest and shut the door once more.

"Hey, Mattie! Missed me?" I asked with a smile that disappeared once I actually looked at the blonde. His face was stained with tears again. "What's wrong?" I said standing up to look at him properly.

He didn't say anything at first but I waited until he did in fear of making him cry more. He stared shaking and his voice was small and broken when he spoke. My eyes widened as he answered my question and my heart dropped.

"Gil…the next freak show will be an auction."

* * *

 **YOOOOOOOO WHATS UUUUUUUUPPPPP DUCKLING HERE QUACK! Man this was a depressing chapter idk if i actually intended to make it this was or not but EHH OH WELL NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT NOW anyways so we got a small glimps at something going on in mathew's head I WONDER WHAT IT IS well thats for me to know and you to find out! also OMG GILBERT IS FALLING IN LOVE AND HE DOESNT EVEN KNOW IT trust me this is just as frustrating for me as it is for you ANYWAYS HOPE YOU DUCKLINGS LIKED THIS CHAPTER ILL SEE YOU GUYS NEXT TIME DUCKLING OUT QUACK QUACK!**


	7. More than just the bruised colored eyes

Mathew stopped crying after a while but neither of us slept that night. My heart dropped to my stomach, there was a knot in my throat, I wanted to throw up, and my body felt numb. It must have been a cold night as I could feel Mathew shivering against my shoulder…or maybe it was fear he was feeling…I couldn't tell.

'The next show is going to be an auction'. We were going to be sold to pures who wanted something more "exotic" than a common toy. I didn't understand the way pures thought; they saw anyone bellow them as property instead of people. It made me sick.

"Mattie…" I said knowing he was awake. He didn't respond with words, he simply moved his head slightly. "If we want to have a chance of getting out…we're gonna have to do it by the end of the week."

"How?" he whispered.

"Doing the only thing we _can_ do…" Mathew lifted his head from my shoulder and looked at me with tired red eyes. "We run."

oooooOOOOOooooo

The next morning Mathew and I huddled under the broken down table after we were thrown back in the dome. We watched in silence as newly marked creatures walked into the dome in fear. Some tried to make themselves smaller while others snapped at anyone who would get too close. Even inside the glass prison their only thought was survival.

"Where's Feli?" I asked once the doors where closed. Mathew leaned forward and looked around for the small brunet.

"I don't know…Gill what if he got in trouble?" he said, worry evident in his voice.

"I don't think so. He's not one to cause trouble" I said scanning the dome once more. "Hey…wasn't there an auction going on while we were in the pit?"

"You don't think he got sold do you!?" he said holding on to my sleeve. His almost useless eyes were aimed at the ground trying not to look at me. When I didn't say anything he spoke again but a lot quieter this time. "The auction was on the first day we were in the pit…it's been three days since then…if he got sold…he should be waiting to get taken right now…"

"Mattie" I said but he walked out from under the table and ran to the edge of the dome behind us. I followed close behind and stood next to where he was pressing his hands and nose to the glass. His eyes where squinting, trying and failing to see something beyond the dome. "What are you doing?"

"If he hasn't been taken yet then we can at least see him walk out thought that door" he said. I didn't say anything else as I stood beside him waiting.

It didn't happen right away but eventually I saw the small brunet toy bouncing happily hand in hand with a tall blonde pure. The pure was smiling back at him in what seemed adoration? Or maybe even fondness? I wasn't sure. I remembered what Feli had said about not everyone being sold to bad people. It did nothing to change the fact that we were still being sold.

"Mattie, he's out." I said and he sighed.

"I can't see him…"

"I know."

"Is he ok?" he asked still looking out the dome.

"He looks happy" I said looking out again. The brunet stopped bouncing and looked back at us smiling. They stopped walking and he waved with one hand as to not to let go of the pure. "He's waving at us" I said and waved back at him. Mathew waved back slowly with a forced smile on his face.

"It looks like he'll be fine" I said. Feli turned back and walked away with the pure.

"He's happy" Mathew said dropping his hands to his side "okay."

"C'mon lets go sit back down" I said turning around. Mathew grabbed the back of my shirt but he didn't move.

"How am I going to tell Lovino?" He said looking back at me. "I know he acts like he doesn't care but…I don't want him to feel like Feli abandoned him. Not after what happened last time. When he gets out of the pit he-"

Mathew stopped and his eyes went wide "when he gets out…Gil he won't be out in time!" we both fell silent. Lovino would be let out of the pit the day of the freak auction but we needed to leave before then. There was no way we could take him with us.

"There's no way to get him out" I said looking away from Mathew.

"We're going to have to leave him" he said and I looked back at him in surprise. His fear of being caged was big enough to abandon the broken boy, even if he had promised not to leave his side. I didn't blame him though, we needed to get out of this place and we needed to do it now.

oooooOOOOOooooo

"Okay…it's not gonna be easy, but it's our best shot" I whispered as to not wake up the other freaks. Mathew and I where back in our glass cage discussing the final details to our escape plan. How we would get out, from where, what to do is the worst case scenario, we had it all down except… "How are we gonna get to her office?"

"The best way would be to be guided there by a keeper, it wouldn't look suspicious if we just got in trouble."

"So are you just gonna break the cage again or?"

"No that would only get me send to the care center and _you_ would be stuck down here" Mathew whispered trying to think of a way out. "If it's something small they won't bother making the mistress come all the way from home."

"And they'll just send us straight for the pit" I finished for him.

"Exactly…so please forgive me."

And before I could ask what he was talking about, he grabbed my wrist, lifted me up with him and connected his fist with my face. I stumbled backwards and my head hit the glass behind me. My cheek was burning where a bruise was definitely forming but I didn't get a chance to react before Mathew punched me again this time getting my nose.

"MATHEW WHAT THE FUCK!" I yelled whipping the blood from my nose and waking up the others in the process.

"IM TIRED OF YOUR BULLSHIT! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" he yelled swinging his arm again. He was slower than the other two times so ducked out of the way before he could hit be a third time. His fist hit the glass instead, cracking it slightly and possibly breaking his hand. The other freaks where yelling and banging their cages turning the usually quiet basement into a fighting ring.

I pressed my back against the opposite side of the cage before Mathew turned around again and said "hit me".

"What!?"

"NOT SO TOUGH NOW, ARE YOU!?" he yelled and moved his hands to tell me to go on "C'MON HIT ME!"

I didn't want to hurt him but with the keepers were getting here any second I couldn't risk them just taking Mathew. Before I knew it, my fist had thrown his head back and his lip was bust open. I immediately regretted it when he locked eyes with me and suddenly I couldn't hear the screams going on around me. I couldn't do this, I couldn't hurt him! But I pushed those thoughts aside and kicked him back pining him to the wall. He grabbed my closed fists before I could hit him again and pushed me back.

The keepers got here before anything else could happen. Two of them chained our hands behind our back and kept us a few feet apart, Mathew in front, as they dragged us by the neck out of the basement while the other ran out to inform the mistress. We walked through the hallway and up the stairs to the second floor where the mistress's office was located. The hallway with the chandeliers looked sinister with only the light of the moon shining though the giant windows. We waited outside the door without moving as the keepers kneeled us down and held us in place. Mathew's keeper held his head down while mine was pulling on the collar to keep my head up.

"The mistress should be here in a few minutes" the keeper who had walked out said once he was done informing the mistress. The keepers holding us down simply nodded before he walked away. Once he was completely out of sight I threw my body forward pulling the keeper with me before sinking my teeth into his wrist. He screamed in pain but I kicked him down before he could regain his balance and process the situation. Once down I flinched before kicking his head and making him pass out. I didn't want to hurt him but it was him or us.

I turned around and found that Mathew had dealt with his keeper in the same way and was now struggling to get the keys from the keeper's belt. Quickly I walked to him and sat down with my back to him to get the keys. Once in my hand I undid the cuffs and moved to free Mathew's wrists and neck before taking of the one on my own neck.

"Hurry we don't have much time!" Mathew said. I could already hear the other keepers running towards us.

I kicked the door open before we both ran inside and blocked the door with the overly extravagant desk sitting in the middle of the room. I could hear the keepers running down the hall and I wondered if that was enough to stop them until we were out.

"Gill, c'mon let's go!" Mathew yelled and I ran to the window he was standing in front of. He had peeled the curtains off and started tying them to the grand piano where the artist had last been sitting. The keepers' pounding on the door became louder and louder with every second that went by and I began to feel afraid once again. I couldn't hear Mathew calling me until he grabbed my wrist and dived out the window.

Mathew's hand was the only thing that kept me from falling to ground bellow but when I looked up and saw that the only thing keeping Mathew from falling was the end of the red fabric in his other hand. I wasn't long enough.

"I might have miscalculated the height of the building!" he shouted in panic. I could hear the keepers almost tearing through the door and I almost thought it was over before Mathew shouts again "Gill, grab the curtain!"

Mathew pulled me up until I reached the curtain and let go until so he was the one trusting me not to let drop him. "Let go!"

"What!?" I shouted looking back at him in terror.

"Trust me! I'll be fine!" he shouted. With the keepers barging in at any moment I had no choice, so I closed my eyes and opened my hand. I heard a loud thud and a small whine of pain before opening my eyes and looking down at him. "Let go!"

"This is getting repetitive don't you think!" I shouted as my fear grew.

"Gil, now's not the time!" he shouted as the fear started to take over.

"I-" I started but the door burst open making me fall. I saw the keepers leaning out of the widow and it finally suck in. We were getting out!

Before I knew it, Mathew was setting me down and we were running. We didn't once turn around to see if the keepers where close behind nor did we stop to take a break. We just kept running. The darkness of the city was almost welcoming as we moved though the buildings and the more we ran, the less we felt trapped.

I felt Mathew grab my hand as he started to fall behind. He was breathing hard and his legs where struggling to keep going. If he were to let go of me he would fall and wouldn't get back up. I scanned the area we were in and quickly turned to run into an abandoned storage unit making sure not to let go of Mathew. Once inside Mathew collapsed to the ground.

"Mattie, look at me. Breathe" I said sitting him up against the wall and holding his head in my hands. Mathew was breathing in short pants and his eyes where shut tight but after a couple of minutes he started to calm down. I sighed in relief "are you ok?"

He nodded but didn't say anything as he was still having some trouble breathing. We were running for a very long time and the air of the outside world was a lot dirtier than the one inside the institute "I'm sorry we should have stopped sooner."

I looked around and found that the storage unit was completely empty besides the dust and dirt that had collected over the years. It only had one window but it was mostly blocked by wood and only a few rays of moon light came though "We can stay here for tonight but we need to keep going before the sun is out."

I sat down next to Mathew who immediately fell against me. He wasn't slouching as far down as he usually was, so instead of laying his head on my shoulder he pressed his check on top of my head. I made it easier for him and rested my head on his shoulder. It felt different but I liked it better.

His shoulders started to shake before he burst out laughing making me sit up straight. It was the first time I had heard him laugh like that and I was frozen on the spot. His head was thrown back and tears where forming on the corners of his eyes as he held his stomach with one hand and his mouth with the other trying to contain the ridiculous snorts he was making. I wanted to hear that laugh forever.

"Oh God, he's finally lost it!" I said smiling "all we've been though and you're just _now_ letting me know you're crazy!?" he kept laughing and it was becoming harder and harder for him to keep it in. "That's rude birdie! You shouldn't do that!" I froze when I realized what I had said. I don't know why I called him that or if had noticed or not but if he had I would have to wait for him to stop laughing to find out.

"Why are you laughing anyway?" I asked hoping to distract him if he _had_ noticed. He slowly stopped laughing and switched to giggling instead.

"We're finally out!" he said whipping the tears from his eyes. "I just can't believe it!" he said sighing and resting his head against the wall.

"It's gonna be hard being out here" I said.

"I know" he replied and we both fell into a comfortable silence. Now that we weren't running away, I finally realized how much my face and head hurt. My nose had dry blood but it didn't hurt as much anymore so it wasn't broken but mu cheek had a bruise that stung when I pressed my fingers to it. "Hey, Mattie-"

"What happened to birdie?" he interrupted me.

"Hu!? N-no sorry that was an accident…" I said turning my head away and scratching the back of my neck.

"Oh? Well that's too bad, I like it" he said like it was nothing. I coughed a little before continuing.

"Anyway I just wanted to ask you umm…why the fuck didn't you warn me before beating the shit out of me?"

"Oh yea…sorry about that I just" he ran a hand though his hair and looked at the floor "if I had told you I don't think I would have been able to hit you… you're right though I should have told you beforehand."

I looked at his lips that where red and puffy and now had dried blood "no its fine, plus I hit you too and now your lips are all messed up."

"I'm still sorry."

"Yea, I'm sorry too" I said looking at him. He looked back at me with his stupid bruise purple eyes "hey how much can you actually see?"

"Oh, errr…not a lot?" he said.

"Can you see me?" I asked curious.

"Sort of? I can see you but you're like a big white blob with smaller red blobs…"

"Wow, okay I'm trying not to feel offended here. I am _more_ than just a blob okay? And since I feel bad that you've never seen my beautiful face, I'll help you out" I said dramatically and he snorted. I scooted closer to him so our shoulders where touching again.

"Can you see me now?" I asked. He squinted a little then said.

"It's better. I can make out your eyes and mouth but it's still fussy."

I leaned forward a bit and asked again "how 'bout now?"

"Wow you actually have a nose!"

"Har, har, can you see me or not?"

"I just told you! I can see your nose now you're just a bit blurry."

I leaned forward to where our noses where almost touching. I could see every shade of purple in his eyes and somehow they weren't just the bruised color anymore, I could count every small, barely noticeable scar on his skin surrounding the big scar going across under his eyes, but I couldn't look away from his busted lips "Uh… can you see me?" I asked a little quitter this time, my mouth going dry.

"Hmmm…yea but…" he moved forward and bumped his nose with mine "there. Now I can see you perfectly. No more blobs."

I didn't understand, my entire body felt hot, my hand started sweating, a shiver went down my spine but I couldn't pull away. My body was being stupid and it was too much to handle.

"We should sleep…we need to get ready to run again in a couple of hours" I said still frozen in place.

"Okay" Mathew said and pulled away. He laid down on the dusty floor and I did the same a few spaces away from him. "Gil, are you cold?" he asked and I noticed I was shivering.

"I bit…it's a lot colder than the basement."

"Well it's a lot bigger in here…come here" he said motioning with his arms.

"Here?"

"Yea. Here. I'm cold too" he said without putting his arms down. I scooted a bit closer and he simply dragged me towards him, wrapping his arms around my stomach and tangling his legs with mine.

"Can I ask why you're using me as a cuddle object?"

"Cuz you're cold, I'm cold and I wanna hug, now shut up and go to sleep." He said burying his face in my neck. It was embarrassing. _I_ wasn't supposed to be cuddled! If anything it should have been the other way around!...but he _was_ warm…and I felt safe…it wasn't all bad.

* * *

 **YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHAT UP MY DUCKLINGS! Ok so I got my laptop back and im sure you guys are tires of excuses so ill summarize. Laptop broke, I left for mexico wihout it, came back and somehow it wasn't fixed, now its back. OK SO! WHOOOOO everything is looking great for these two! I finaly got to write fluff! EVERYTHING IS FINE ANMD DANDY!...or is ti? You guys didn't think it would be that easy did you!? WELL YOULL FIND OUT NEXT TIME! Man I wrote a lot this time the Hamilton soundtrack gets me PUMPED! Anyways I hope this long chapter makes up for the wait and I promise it wont happen again for the rest of the story ILL SEE YOU GUYS NEXT CHAPTER! DUCKLING OUT QUACK!**


	8. More than just a hound

It was so much worse.

Before the sun was even out I was wide awake. I got up from the spot on the floor where Mathew was still sleeping and walked to the small opening on the barricaded window. Some people where already moving outside so we had to leave immediately. Hurrying back to Mathew I kneeled down and shook him awake.

"Mattie, c'mon we have to go!" I said in a loud whisper. He sat up with difficulty rubbing his eyes to try to get rid of the drowsiness. "Come on get up!" he didn't say anything but I quickly helped him stand on his feet before moving to look out the window. I held my breath once I caught a glimpse of a man in a uniform holding a very familiar metal serpent in his hands.

The hounds arrived.

"Where are we going" he asked still half asleep behind me. I didn't answer and kept looking out the window until the hounds where running in the opposite direction.

"It doesn't matter but we can't stay here" I said turning around and grabbing his hand. "Ready to run?" He nodded once before we walked to the door. I breathed in slowly before opening the door and bolting out and going straight into the shadows of the city.

With people walking through the streets we couldn't run freely like we could when we escaped, instead we ran though the shadows in short pauses as we had to make sure no one would see us when we stepped into the light. It would take a while to find another place where we could go where no one could find us so all we could do at the moment was run.

Before I could run into the light again, Mathew dug his heels on the ground and pulled me back.

"Gil do you hear that?" he asked and I flinched. It was the same metal sound and bark like laughter I've heard since the day I was born. I tightened my hold on Mathews hand as my eyes searched frantically for the hounds. I couldn't see them but the sound was getting closer and closer as the seconds ticked away.

"Run." I said once I couldn't take it anymore. It didn't matter that there were people that could see us and it didn't matter that we had nowhere to go. All that mattered was that the hounds were getting closer. No matter which way we ran, I could still hear the bark like laughter ringing in my ears. I had walked these streets more times than I could count but I couldn't tell if I was moving away or towards the heart of the city. The metal of the serpents echoed through the streets and alleys but I still couldn't see the hounds.

But one could see us.

I turned and pulled Mathew along before he could fall and ran again. I could hear heavy breathing but I didn't know if it was Mathew's or my own. I didn't turn around but suddenly it wasn't just one hound stepping on our heels. The metal serpents were hissing as they tried to sink their fangs into any part of our body they could reach and the hounds where barking with laughter as they thought of this as a simple game of cat and mouse. A game to see which one of them could catch us first. We kept running and turning and jumping over and over again until I realized what the hounds where doing.

They had guided us to a dead end.

"Alright let's get this over with. It's getting boring." One of the hounds said as the others barked with laughter. I clenched my fist and tried in vain to look for a way out. I felt Mathew flinch before growing stiff and paralyzed. For the first time I turned to look at the hounds but all I saw was….Mathew?

My body went cold. I was staring straight at Mathew but…it wasn't him! I was still clutching his hand! But it was the same blonde, washed-out ashy hair, same sickly skin, same long body….but no bruise colored eyes.

And no scar.

"Mattie! Wow!" the hound barked pushing up the glasses that made his eyes look cold. I could feel Mathew shaking "Wow. Wow. WOW! I _cannot_ believe I'm seeing you again! Well…at least not without a pretty little collar around your neck."

The hound took a step forward and I was quickly In front of Mathew snarling at the fake with the ice cold eyes.

"Aww, you even made a friend! How cute!" another step forward and I was pushing Mathew back. "You two have been really bad boys haven't you? You're not supposed to be out of your cages."

Another step forward; another step back.

"Get the hell away!"

"Eww you're one of those creatures, aren't you?" he sighed dramatically and the other hounds laughed looking a bit too relaxed. "Man the ones like you always give me unnecessary trouble. You make my job way harder than it needs to be."

"You're delusional if you think I'm just handing us over."

Another step forward; another step back.

"Mattie," he said ignoring me "We can either do this the easy way were no one gets hurt…or we can do it the hard way like last time."

In a second, my fist stroke between his eyes breaking his glasses in the process. The other two hounds didn't have time to react as I was dragging Mathew again forcing him to move. I was running one moment and frozen on the spot the next when I felt Mathews hand go limp and leave mine. He was on the ground trying and failing to keep his eyes open as the metal serpent tangled around his leg and sunk its fangs in his thigh.

I didn't run. Why couldn't I run? I could run now and never be in a cage again! I could be free again! But I couldn't run.

"You never learn do you, bro?" said the hound once he caught up with the other two. He wasted no time before sending the serpent to my arm and pulling me down to the ground.

The last thing I heard was the mad barking of the hounds.

oooooOOOOOooooo

It's cold.

The first thing that crossed my mind was that it was cold where I was. I tried opening my eyes but I couldn't …or at least I thought I couldn't until I realized they were already open an staring at a small blue light surrounded by grinning figures that never came closer.

I was in the pit.

Mathew was already awake and was hugging his knees to his chest trying to make himself small.

"Mattie?" I said as quietly as I could against the deafening silence of the pit. He jumped back and held himself up with his hands before sitting up straight and crossing his legs.

"We shouldn't have left…" he cried, tears staining his eyes red "we wouldn't be here if we hadn't left! We would have gone to auction without a problem, sold to a stupid pure and we could have just blamed _them_ for leaving Lovino behind! It would have been their fault and not mine! He would have hated them and not me!"

Mathew was shaking as quiet voice somehow filled the entire room like a scream. He was pulling at his hair and looking at the floor in rage. "He hates me! The one time in my life I try to be selfish and it ends with him yelling and hitting me! I never get to selfish! I'm always putting others before myself and I'm sick of it! No one cares about what I want! Everyone gets to be selfish except me! Lovino always gets to be selfish and demand things from me! Alfred gets to be selfish and choose his job over me! And you-"

He stopped. I didn't move or say anything; I just sat still until he talked again.

"You didn't run…" he whispered. Neither of us said anything else. Mathew pressed his back against the wall and I hesitantly sat next to him.

"What happened?...here in the pit, I mean" I asked when he didn't say anything anymore.

"Lovino asked what had happened…and when I tried to apologize he started yelling and hitting me…the keepers took him away."

"Do you want to talk about the other thing?" I asked knowing he understood what I was talking about.

"He's my brother" he said simply and I waited for him to continue. "Mother was a toy...i only knew because of the spike on her ear but she never talked about it. She died when we were seven and we were left alone. It's a scary world out there for kids….so when the hounds found us and realized Alfred could work with them…he handed me over to them in a heartbeat. I tried running of course but…"

He didn't have to say it. We both knew what happened after that.

"Why didn't you run?"

"I don't know…" I answer honestly "I couldn't…I couldn't leave you."

"Please don't leave me…please let me be selfish for once."

"Okay."

Before he could move, I rested my head on his shoulder. It took a few seconds but he relaxed a bit and pressed his cheek to the top of my head. It was embarrassing to admit but despite everything that was happening, I felt safe. It was stupid, my body was being stupid. I hated it. I wouldn't be stuck down here if I had kept going. I wouldn't be locked up if I had just kept running….but I wouldn't have him I had.

oooooOOOOOooooo

We don't know how long we stayed in the pit or how many times we were awake or not, but they didn't let us out until the day of the auction. Unlike the other freaks, Mathew and I had our hands chained behind our back, our ankles connected by a short chain and we were being pulled by the neck by two different keepers. We walked into the room where the artist where waiting and once again they removed all chains and stripped us off our clothes. "Be careful with those two, love" said one of the keepers as he walked away.

The artist looked scared for a moment before she got to work. I was dressed in a similar outfit as the one from the freak show only this time I was mostly covered in red. The stupid pants that strangled my legs were red but the cloth wrapped around my ankles was black this time. I had that same cloth wrapped around my wrists and my torso was covered in red symbols like the ones before. Red. Not black. I guess they didn't want to deal with the pures complaining about my pain later on. The only black paint I got was below my eyes. Red and black making my eyes look worse than they already were.

I couldn't find Mathew but one we were being taken to the cages i saw him being thrown in the one opposite to mine.

Even with the other three freaks in the cage with me…I felt completely alone.

* * *

 **SUP PEOPLE DUCKLING HERE QUACK! and yea sorry for the depressing chapter but WE GET TO SEE ALFRED! SO THAT'S GOOD! RIGTH?...no…..ok… sorry ANYWAYS I don't have much to say for this chapter so I'll see you guys next time! DUCKLING OUT QUACK!**


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